The Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) is a rapidly expanding Institute based at the University of Saskatchewan. Our Vision is a world where everyone has access to safe and nutritious food. This is a bold vision, one that we will strive to achieve through investing in out talent. In line with our Mission, we will work with our employees, partners and stakeholders to discover, develop and deliver innovative solutions for the production of globally sustainable food.
We are guided by our Values of: Innovation. Excellence. Collaboration. Integrity. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
PRIMARY PURPOSE As the Bioinformatics Technician you are a member of the Data Management & Analytics team, you provide bioinformatics support for the analysis of omics data and ensure data analysis milestones are met in multiple projects.
NATURE OF WORK Reporting to the Platform Lead, Data Management & Analytics, you will work with technology platforms across GIFS, including the Omics and Precision Agriculture Laboratory (OPAL), to apply state-of-the-art computational methods and assist in the development and standardization of innovative approaches to software challenges that touch all aspects of NGS data analysis. This includes but is not limited to data processing, quality assurance/control, genome assembly and annotation, variant analysis, epigenetics, and transcriptome analyses.
ACCOUNTABILITIES
Lead by example.
Provide bioinformatics support for the analysis of omics data and ensure data analysis milestones are met in multiple projects.
Maintain quality assurance/control of NGS data generated by OPAL to ensure reproducibility, sensibility, and accuracy of the downstream bioinformatics analyses.
Support the development and management of large-scale data warehousing infrastructure such as Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).
Introduce and incorporate emerging computational methodologies in our bioinformatics codebase.
Maintain quality of code and good engineering practices: documentation, automated testing, logging, alerting, etc.
Collaborate with GIFS researchers and partners to translate R&D work to production analyses.
Maintain accurate documentation and communicate the results of analysis effectively.
QUALIFICATIONS
A BSc in life sciences combined with a strong computer science/bioinformatics skillset or a BSc in computer science combined with experience in biological applications.
Advanced proficiency in Python is required. Knowledge of Perl and Shell scripting languages is considered an asset.
Experience in bioinformatics and research support.
Experience processing and analyzing Next Generation sequencing data.
Experience working in a Linux environment.
Experience administering and developing relational database and database-driven bioinformatics web applications.
SKILLS
Knowledge of the development and implementation of bioinformatics pipelines.
Knowledge of Agile development methodologies, databases, and object-relational mapping (ORM) framework.
Direct experience and understanding of UNIX fundamentals as applied to systems administration and bioinformatics software development in a distributed and heterogeneous Linux environment.
Knowledge of distributed and parallel HPC environments.
Motivated, results orientated, organized with the ability to meet deadlines while managing multiple demands.
Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and build relationships within a multidisciplinary team environment and with both internal and external partners.
